Vampire Crush
by Ashes of Death
Summary: Vampires aren't quite what some people believe, but they aren't always able to control their actions either. Will one vampire's unexpected crush help to gain control he never had, or will he lose everything instead? COMPLETE
1. Craving

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters.

**Note:** One of my "dead end" fics…in other words, a fic that I will not continue to write on unless people want me to. This is something I began to write after, once again, not finding a decent story plot along the lines of what I was in the mood for. Not sure if I like the title, but…:shrug: Whatever.

**Warnings:** AU, OOC, blood (vamp fic—duh)…probable shounen-ai (Vincent&Cloud)in future chapters…and that's all to report for now.

**Vampire Crush**

**Chapter 1:** Craving

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Silver moonlight peeked through the navy clouds of night as a soft wind whispered through the trees. A content sigh escapes me as I absorb the soothing sounds of a calm night. The only problem that can ruin a lovely night such as this is my craving. My retched need for a warm, crimson liquid humans of the English language dub, 'blood.' My kind are hated and feared, but we are not so different as people think. We are born from humans, but at our birth we are blessed with amazing strength, vitality, 'beauty,' and other things. If those facts alone aren't enough to condemn our kind, then our traits that we are cursed with will seal our fate. We are blessed in many ways, but the blessings do not come with out a heavy price. We cannot continue to live without taking blood from the species unto which we were born, and many of us have quite a malicious nature. The sun strain's our eyes, but we will not turn to dust like many think. Religion is something that many give up hope on because of what the society thinks of them. Society can be blamed for many of the things we do, and that is proven in any part of history you look at. My stomach lurches suddenly, causing me to intake a sharp breath as the craving worsens. If I do not feed soon, there will be much unnecessary bloodshed.

An unfortunate male, homeless by his appearance, is the first human being I come across and he doesn't even have time to scream before my fangs pierce the tender flesh of his neck. After the majority of his blood is in my system, I start to come to my senses once more and drop the poor soul immediately. A shaky hand covers my mouth and I silently retreat, the flowing of my cape being the only sound made before I shimmer away from the scene.

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My home is dim since my eyes are sensitive to the light, but even so my mind cannot find peace enough to allow me to rest some nights. Images of the male I killed tonight and the victims before him flashed across my thoughts. These images always cause me to toss and turn, as well as recall a reoccurring thought; what if I had a lover? Someone that wouldn't hate me for what I am—as well as allow me to take small amounts of their blood periodically…If I were to find someone like that, the threat of my mind going berserk would be diminished greatly. Not to mention my loneliness would fade…The problem being…who could ever love someone like me?

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((AN: Good? Bad? Incredibly short, I know...Sorry.))


	2. Fortunate Meetings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** AU,OOC…blood/gore, language, and shounen-ai…'Tis all for now.

**Note:** Currently, I haven't moved into my dorm yet…About a week 'till then...I'm surprised at how popular this fic is, especially since the first 'chapter' was so ridiculously short. I had meant for it to be longer, but forgot and ran out of time before I had to upload everything on that particular computer or risk not being able to upload the story until next year. Also, I was going to wait until I was in my dorm to put the second chapter up, but all the lovely reviews changed my mind. X3 At any rate, I hope you readers enjoy this chapter because it's taken a slightly different turn from what I originally had planned…and don't forget to review and let me know how you feel about the story. :) (Forgive me for any grammar mistakes and such…This was typed up around 2 in the morning… X.x; )

**Chapter 02**: Fortunate Meetings

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With a great yawn to finish off my lazy stretch, I get up out of bed and pull on my clothing before heading outside to see what type of work the weather would allow me to do today. Who am I you ask? My name is Cloud Strife, twenty-one years old and I currently live out in the middle of nowhere. My occupation? Whatever I'm able to do, which is a bit of everything…So, I guess, I'm a jack of all trades. Though, since I live in the middle of a forest, I typically spend my day cutting firewood and such for the towns that have no trees left around them. No axes for me though, I only use my wonderful buster sword. Not the most powerful thing in existence, but it'll still pack a wallop.

A grin sneaks its way onto my face as I lift the sword and swing it, feeling it's wonderful weight. Today is nice and bright, which means I should be able to get today's requests done with a little free time to go into Kalm, the closest city to my home. I'm not exactly fond of cities, especially after my bad experiences while I was in the military, but going to at least one of them periodically allows me to get the knowledge of the world that I tend to be overly curious about. That's one of my problems; my curiosity. That's what got me into the military in the first place—a 'good way to see the world,' my ass. It's a good way to go horribly insane. I get odd looks from people who are near me, not only because of my clothing, eyes, and odd hair style…but I also tend to see things that people don't believe exist. Ghosts of the past often haunt me when I travel into a town with a bloody, forgotten past and sometime I've had them attack me. I usually pass out when touched by them, or I'll end up getting many stares when I begin to talk to them, not realizing what they are until the damage has been done. I don't know exactly why I am the way I am…I just…am.

"Whew! It's not even eleven and it's already so hot!" I complain to my sword as I sit on the freshly cut stump, taking a breather as my breathing had become more labored than necessary and sweat was trailing down my face. I glance at the decent pile of wood that I've chopped, "That should be enough for today. Not many people want wood since it's the middle of summer…" I hear footsteps approaching and look over as I hear, "Ah, but I am one of those people, Mr. Strife." I stand and give a polite smile as an old woman approaches the little clearing, "Good day Mrs. Sa—"

"I thought I told you to call me Ishtar, no?" I gave the woman a sheepish smile mumbling, "Sorry." The elderly woman gave a kind smile before saying in her soothing voice, "No harm done son, can I have my usual order, please?" I gave her a nod and ran back into my small cabin, returning with a pint container filled with water (from the hot spring that wasn't too far away from my home) and a basket identical to the one she had hung around her arm. I filled it with five logs of the wood I'd just cut and then slipped the container on top of it and traded the filled basket for her empty one, "Do you want me to help you carry it home, Ishtar?" She smiled upon me using her first name for once, but shook her head, "No, no, you've done enough for me." I nodded and she bowed, "Take care, Mr. Strife." I watched her turn around and begin to walk away before I glanced down at the basket she'd given me. My eyes widened in surprise and I called out, "Mrs. Ishtar—you gave me too much gil!" I trotted up to her as she had stopped and turned to glance at me. When I started to reach into the basket to retrieve the extra amount, she placed her hand upon mine, "Keep it. You work so hard for so little in all kinds of weather." She smiled before continuing to walk towards her home. I couldn't help but smile at her back, but her comment that she called over her back switched happiness for confusion. She called out, "You'll soon need that money to help feed an extra mouth," to me, without even stopping or looking back. I slowly headed back to my cabin, picking up my sword as I went by; as my mind tried to make restore order to the confusion she'd sent my thoughts into.

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'Ok, admit it, you're fucking lost.' I mentally kicked myself as I wandered from the grassy plains to the edge of a forest. 'This sure as hell doesn't look like Kalm,' my mind complained as my body continued to move forward. Doubling back would not only take longer, but I would also have a high chance of getting shot by the people there. I'd stayed there too long and they figured out that I am a vampire, thus I had no choice but to move on. I had to abandon my little apartment as well, which left me in a foul mood, on top of the fact that my craving didn't come only at 'opportune' times. There'd be no bloody human for many miles with my luck…and that would not spell good news for the next town I come across. "Damn it, either way I'm screwed!" I growled under my breath as I marched on. What else could I do? The longer it took for me to find someone to prey off of, the worse off that person, and anyone else near, would be. 'To top it all off, this cursed weather isn't helping…' Of course, if I didn't wear a red cape that covered the lower half of my face, black pants, boots, and a black shirt—I might be cooler. Whatever. I'm beginning to get a headache from the lack of blood…I stop dead in my tracks as I hear footsteps approaching my position and my heart leaps, 'I just might not end up going berserk this time!' I swiftly hide behind a tree and quietly wait. When I hear the footsteps reach the right position I jump out with fangs bared and arms outstretched to grab whomever had approached, but I let out a yelp as I am smacked on top of the head with a piece of cut wood, "No! Bad boy! I'm not what you want, despite what your stomach might tell you." My curses and pain were temporarily forgotten as I gawked at an elderly woman from where I was sitting down at her feet, subconsciously rubbing the spot where she'd beamed me. She let out a kind chuckle, "My name is Ishtar," she reached into a pocket and handed me a small bottle, "I expected to run into you, in that bottle is some enchanted blood that will sustain you a bit longer than a normal feed." At that, my shock only deepened and she gave me a kindly smile. "Sorry about hitting you like that, I wasn't sure what amount of force it would take to stop you," she turned towards the way she had come as she pointed, "Down that direction is a young man. He'll do almost any job for the right amount of gil—he's such a dear." I blinked at her sentimental comment, but she continued before I could say anything, "He'll be able to give you supplies to bandage that up, along with something for the pain, and he will probably let you lodge there for the night if you have enough gil." I just looked glumly at the ground as she turned back towards me. I have no gil, but a bed to sleep in sounded a lot better than sleeping outside in this forest. "Oh my, you are having a hard time aren't you?" I looked up at her in time to watch her slip a large amount of gil into my hand. I could only gawk at her once more as she smiled, "Use it wisely, dear." She began to walk off and my brain suddenly began to function again…sort of, "M-ma'm! Thank you!" I stuttered foolishly, unused to saying polite words or words of kindness, but she merely turned to smile and bow before walking off. I would've continued to stare after her with a mystified look on my face, but my craving surged within my stomach suddenly and I quickly uncapped the bottle she'd given me. The stuff tasted horrible, even in terms of blood, but just a few swallows completely filled up my craving and my stomach's hunger. Since it was bitter, and the craving was gone, I capped it once more and put it in my pocket. Obviously, the lady wasn't kidding about it being enchanted…Could she have been a witch? The bump on my head suddenly chose to make itself noticed once more as it began to throb with pain again, I groaned and placed a hand gingerly over it as I stood. Looking off in the direction the woman had pointed, I let out a sigh as I began to walk again, "What do I have to lose?"

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I let out a strained breath as I finished moving the last of the wood into a pile by my cabin, "This mess is so much easier in the winter…" I grumbled, but merely continued on to my other tasks, the next one being to gather more spring water for the few people who buy a few gallons of it every week. 'They should arrive sometime tomorrow if their schedule doesn't get disrupted…' I thought as I scooped up the hot water into about ten containers. When that was done, I began to haul one after the other back to my cabin, which was painfully hot. By the time I set down the last jug, I went down with it, panting for air as sweat trickled down my face and onto the floor. At times like this, I'm tempted to freeze that stupid spring with my ice materia to have a bit of relief from the heat. Air conditioning would be heavenly right about now, but I own no such thing. I was just lucky to have indoor plumbing out in this little cabin. "Ugh…I think…That's enough for today. I…don't think I'll be going to Kalm." After a few moments I mentally fussed at myself, 'Who are you talking to, idiot? You've spent too much time alone…' I gave a sigh as I stood, "Maybe I should search for a roommate, or a partner? Someone to talk to, damn, I'm going insane!" I uttered a groan and ran my hands through my hair before I pulled off my shirt as I readied for a nice, cold shower. Maybe that would help. Just before I could turn on the water, though, I heard a knock at my door. "Figures…" I mumbled before shouting, "Coming!" I wrapped a towel around my waist and opened the door to find a man, whose eyes widened at a man answering the door only in a towel, with black hair and red eyes, oddly enough. "Er…Can I help you?"

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The man's question pulled me out of the shock that had fallen upon me withhim answering his door in a towel—kind of on the short side to boot. "A-ah, yes…I think…I came across an old lady who told me you might be able to help me?" When he scrunched up his face slightly in confusion, I quickly added "…I think she said her name was Ishtar?" A light of realization came across his face, "Oh, yes, she left here not too long ago…So you have the right place…but what do you need from me?"

"She gave me quite a large bump on the head when…she mistook me for an attacker, and she said you could give me something for the pain—and a place to lodge for the night if I had enough gil…" I held my breath as he made a face. After a few tense moments, he slowly said, "I don't know what she's trying to do, she normally doesn't tell travelers to comehere…" he gave me a short smirk, "She must've really have given you a wallop to send you here." I nodded, only to wince slightly, and he continued, "Do you have 100 gil?"

"Yes…"

"Great! That's much more than what I get on a regular basis, so if you're willing to pay that, I'll let you stay." I rummaged through my pocket and handed him the amount and he stepped to the side, "I don't have air conditioning, but I do have indoor plumbing…" I walked in and began to look around. It wasn't exactly dirty…just…well lived in. "Sorry, I normally don't house company, so you'll have to give me a little while to get everything set up for you. You'll have to excuse the mess as well…" He disappeared into what I assume is a bathroom and reemerged with a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin, "Here ya go. I'll be in the shower for a bit…Make yourself at home, I guess." With that, he disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. I heard the rushing sound of water not too long after I sat down on the edge of a comfortable little bed. Swallowing the correct dosage of the medicine without the water, I set the bottle down on a small wooden table, it appeared to be hand carved, and poured the water out in a sink. I sat down on the edge of the bed once more and began to look around once more. Soon my thoughts began to wander to the man who'd I be staying with for the night. He seemed quite unusual with his interesting hairstyle and glowing blue eyes…Why he'd want to live out here in a place like this was interesting as well…A faint click announced the opening of the bathroom door and I looked up to see the man still fairly damp. His hair was slightly more limp than it was before, but it was still very much spiked up in various directions, and beads of water trailed down his chest and back as he walked over towards a dresser. He bent over to rummage for clothes and I realized his towel was not only slightly loose, but awful short indeed. I quickly averted my eyes to the floor, feeling an unusual pull at my stomach when a few uncharacteristic thoughts popped into my head. "You're face is red—you must be awfully hot in that outfit…" My head snapped up to find him examining me with his clothing in one hand, and the other hand keeping a grip on his towel. He continued on, "I can lend you some clothing; mind you they may not fit perfectly…or at least a cold shower…" His brilliant blue eyes glanced over towards the bathroom then back at me. After a moments of silence I said, "A cold shower sounds nice." The blonde gave me a relieved smile and said, "Help yourself. There are a few more towels on the shelf behind the door." I gave him a nod and I walked into the room, shutting the door behind me.

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A sigh escaped my throat after the man had shut the door. He seemed to be an interesting guy, and alreadyI love having someone here with me. Exactly how lonelyI've been out here in this forest hadn't fully sunk in until now.I got dressed and began to become depressed whenI remembered the man was only staying for one night…then it'd be back to the company of me, myself, and I. A soft click catches my attention and pulls me out of my spiraling depression. I look up only to have an odd feeling flutter within my stomach upon seeing the man emerge with damp hair, holding his shirt and cape in his hand. He only had on his pants. His boots had been removed and were in the other hand, which was a gold claw that I had somehow managed to overlook before hand. "…Where can I set these?" he raised the objects slightly and his voice snapped me out of the trance I'd gone into and I pointed over to a shelf in the corner of the room, "Over there is fine."

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I looked to where he had pointed and walked over to place my things there as I tried to ignore his eyes that had resumed their inspection of me. I hated risking him realizing that I'm a vampire, but the weather here is just so damn hot…I turned back towards him, "So where will I sleep…"

"Er, Cloud. Cloud Strife. You'll sleep on my bed; I'll roll out a futon for myself." I gave a nod. Cloud…I'll be sure to remember that. His eyes were upon me again with a curious look within them and I answered one of the many possible questions that could lie behind those glowing blue orbs, "Vincent Valentine is my name." His face lit up in a kind smile, "Sorry, nice to meet you…" he rubbed the back of his head, "I'm afraid living alone for so long and being in SOLDIER have taken their toll…You'll have to excuse my odd behavior." I gave him a nod, oddly enough, that explained a lot of the questions I'd been wondering about him.

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(1) I could have ended the chapter here, almost did, but I decided to continue to make up for the short first chapter.

((AN: There ya go. A nice long (compared to my usual lengths) chapter to make up for the short first chapter. :3 Good? Bad? Reviews please! Let me know if you think the rating should be moved up…I'm not out to get in trouble with or anyone else. Also, Kalm was just a random town I chose…I don't care if it doesn't quite fit the FFVII map, this is an AU fic in the first place. :P ))


	3. Extended Stay

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** AU,OOC…blood/gore, language, and shounen-ai…'Tis all for now.

**Note:** Wow, it's been a while since I was able to sit down and type. All I can say is that I'm sorry it took so long (blame my stupid professors!) and thank you SO much for all the wonderful reviews:) They've been reminding me that people want me to continue with the story, and have also managed to brighten a gloomy day or two. Again, thanks so much, and here's chapter three. Enjoy. X3

**Chapter 03**: Extended Stay

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After I gave Cloud a nod, he turned and began to clean up his little house. Truly, there are only two rooms in the house; a bathroom, then one large room for everything else. A sink, stove, and refrigerator along one part of the wall (the bathroom interrupting that one) to the right of the front door, a small table near the sink with two chairs, and a cabinet just to the right of the front door. That cabinet seemed to contain all the dishes he could ever need. Directly across from the small table and cabinet were a few bookshelves of various books, some looking quite tattered. Following along that wall, in the other corner of that side, his bed lay next to a window that was currently shut tight. The shutters on the outside of it are closed as well. Next to his bed is a dresser, obviously for clothing, and a small, battered alarm clock lay on the top of it. The corner opposite of his bed held another cabinet that a large sword leaned against. What lay in there, I'm not quite sure.

"You can sit down; you know…" the voice turned my attention back to Cloud and he was standing there with an armful of dirty laundry while returning my stare, "Nothing will bite you. I promise." A small smile threatened to tug at my mouth, but never came, before I walked over to one of the chairs by the table and sat down. Cloud has resumed his cleaning as soon as I had made a move for a chair. He was making amazing progress. Already he only had a few pieces of junk to pick up and his bed to make before the place looked fairly neat.

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After a few minutes, I placed the last stray item in its place and scanned the room, "There, at least that's done." I then turned towards Vincent and gave him a sheepish smile, "I've been meaning to clean this place for weeks now." When no response came from him, I turned back towards the cabinet as my smile quickly faded, 'You have spent too much time alone…' Pulling out the bedding that would make up his futon, I chucked the pieces on the ground, one-by-one. After laying them out, I turned to the other man once more, "There you go, it's all set up…What would you would you like to eat for dinner?" Oddly enough, he seemed to pale further than his original state and there was a moment of silence before he quietly said,

"I've already had dinner."

I gave him a puzzled look. The sun was just now beginning to set, if he had actually eaten anything at all, that would have been lunch… "Are you sure? I'm not such a bad cook…And I have a decent amount of choices for you to choose from…" My voice almost had a hint of disappointment in it, and I mentally kicked myself for that. His reply only made the feeling weighing my stomach down worse,

"Yes. I am fine. I don't eat very often, or very much." I gave him a shrug before I began to cook something for myself, since I was now getting hungry. Since he claimed he wasn't going to eat anything, I decided on just fixing some fresh rice and heating up some of the fish and miso soup I had cooked yesterday morning.

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The smells of the food Cloud had begun to cook soon filled the room and, for once, I wasn't nauseous from the smell of 'human' food. Normally, I'd feel slightly sick…This just made my nose feel slightly overwhelmed. Other than that, I felt fairly comfortable, all things considered. As I watched him cook, I began to focus more on him than anything else…More on his skin that the collar of his baggy shirt failed to cover up.

The craving began to prick at my mind and body once more and I quickly averted my eyes to the table top. It didn't surface out of true hunger…perhaps out of blood lust? Either way, this proves that I will not be able to stay here any longer than one night. I will lose myself at times, and now that I know his name…the guilt of his spilt blood would haunt me for the rest of my miserable life…Even more so than all the nameless, faceless victims of my despicable craving.

"Hey…You okay?" Cloud had bent down over the table to come into my vision, and I promptly sat up straight, restricting myself from emitting a noise of surprise. "You don't look so good…" he stood back up, but continued to examine me with his eyes.

"I am fine." I said indignantly, managing to pull off an offended look. Cloud held up his hands in mock surrender and turned back to his cooking as he muttered, "Fine, fine…have it your way…" Great. Why am I here again? Oh, right, because you got yourself beamed on the head by an old woman and you were too selfish to just sleep on the forest floor—or even in a tree! I suppressed a growl of frustration while trying to keep a neutral posture and facial expression. Stupid, stupid me! I don't deserve a roof over my head, yet alone someone's company, and this is just another reminder of why! I got up and headed for my stuff that I'd set down and grabbed the small bottle the old woman had given me. With a quick glance to make sure Cloud wasn't busy staring over in my direction, I took a few swallows before capping it again. The stuff tasted worse than it did when I was out in the forest. It was all I could do not to make a noise of disgust.

"That doesn't look like it tastes too pleasant. One of Ishtar's remedies?" I gave a small nod but did not look over at Cloud. If I did, he would surely catch the glow that was awakening within my eyes from the blood. Why is it that he pays such attention to what I do? Oh. Right. I'm a stranger in his house for one. And two, he normally is alone. Only a grouchy, and elderly, hermit wouldn't be interested in something new within his surroundings.

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Noticing Vincent's stiff reaction, I gathered my attempt at conversation to be a failure, and I returned my attention to my meal. Good thing too, for a moment longer would have resulted in a burnt meal. With a sigh I shut down the stove and helped myself to the meal that would not be as good cold. Half way through my meal, Vincent lied down on the futon, placing an arm across his face to block any light from his eyes.

"You okay?" I said quietly, if he still had a headache it wouldn't help to speak too loudly.

"I'm fine." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. I had a feeling he'd say that even if he were bleeding to death with an open wound in his chest. A few bites later he surprised me by speaking again, "I guess I'm just tired…" Though he spoke it very softly, I somehow caught it all. "From traveling?" I offered, not questioning the chance to converse with someone other than myself.

"No…of it all…" he removed his arm to stare at the ceiling before casting his sorrowful gaze towards me. Those crimson orbs engraved their sorrow into my heart and my mouth acted before my brain, "If there's anything I can do to help…Just let me know." After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted, "And you can stay here as long as you need to—to get back on your feet, and free of charge." This statement seemed to steal his words away for a moment, as they did to me. I was shocked they had even come from my mouth. The hoot of an owl broke the stunned silence and snapped Vincent's voice back into working order, "I can't do that. No one deserves to be dragged into my troubles. I will place that torture and burden on no one."

There was something about the way he stated his words that cause both curiosity and concern to surface within me, "Burdens? Maybe. I think torture is taking it too far. Just for that, I demand that you stay here…at least until you are feeling better. I will just end up regretting that I let you leave like this if I were to catch word of a suicide case."

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"Suicide…?" '…not a bad idea actually…' My sudden morbid visions were shattered by a pair of angry blue orbs glaring down at my face.

"You will _not_ commit suicide. I will _not_ let you. I _will_ do what it takes to help you." He then stood back up and returned to his plate of food. I merely continued to stare at where he had been in a slight state of shock. The man no idea what he was getting himself into by trying to keep me around.

He muttered something from the table, but I had been too out of it to catch what he'd said. I slowly sat up to see that he was keeping an even closer eye on me now…As if I were going to snatch the first sharp object I could get a hold of and slice….

"Don't try anything stupid. Don't you have some family that would miss you if you were to die?" A bitter smirk flashed across my face, "No."

"Friends?"

"No."

"….Lover?"

"….No." With every question he asked, his voice seemed to sink along with the pity deepening in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. Were you in some sort of tragedy?"

"My birth was the tragedy." That caused him to frown slightly,

"What happened to you to make you this way?"

"I will not say." His frown deepened, but instead of continuing his interrogation, he merely placed his dishes in the sink and said,

"Let's turn in early then, shall we? I've had a long day, and you've apparently had a rough one. Some sleep will do us both good."

He flicked off the lights before moving closer to his bed, taking care not to trip over where I sat. I heard him slip out of some of his clothing before lying down in his bed. I lied down not too long after and heard a soft, "Sleep well," even softer came, "…Vincent."

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((AN: Good? Bad? Sorry it took SO long for me to update. I've been real busy and had a writer's block. I also apologize that this chapter is not as long as I had hoped it would be. Reviews please, and thanks soooo much for all the ones given so far. X3 They've prodded this update into existence. (Good grief, you can tell there was a huge pause in the writing of this chapter, ne? I even restated the first note without realizing it! XP I'll keep it all there though to reinforce my apologies and appreciation. Oh, btw, forgive me for any errors in this chapter.) ))


	4. Hated Meetings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** AU,OOC…blood/gore, language, and shounen-ai…'Tis all for now.

**Note:** Oh my…I've had this chapter partially typed up for probably over 4 months. o.o; Forgive me for any mistakes, extreme OOC comes in, in my opinion. XD I apologize for the insane wait for the update. Hope you people enjoy.

**Chapter 04**: Hated Meetings

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I awoke when a stream of light landed upon my eyes from the rising sun. Scrunching my eyes back shut, I rolled over and then slowly opened them. I spotted ebony hair and the events of yesterday came back to me, and I couldn't help but sigh. Why am I so concerned about this individual? What is it about him that is making me care even though I only met him yesterday? I'm too kind for my own good, I guess. Sitting up, a silent yawn escapes from my mouth as I stretch. I glance once more at the one with ebony hair before moving towards the bathroom with clean clothes in hand.

Once done in the bathroom, and dressed, I grabbed a slice of bread before heading out to start my work for the day. It's not good to work on an empty stomach, or start the day with a poor breakfast, but I'd rather not wake Vincent if I don't have to. It seems like he needs as much rest away from his normal life as possible.

'I wonder what happened to him to make him think he's better off dead? There are many things that could have happened, but his case doesn't seem to fit anything of the so-called norm…' I raised my sword, aiming for the tree I'd cut down yesterday and the blade came singing down into the wood. The sound of metal slicing through the air has a strange effect over me, I guess because of my years in the military… After the wood was finished, I continued swinging my sword around in the air; testing it's weight and just listening to the sounds created by the blade.

"You love that sword very much."

"Woah!" the blade went flying out of my hand and embedded itself into a tree on my left. I looked to the voice, "V-Vincent! …You surprised me…"

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He turned his back towards me as he tried to retrieve his sword from the tree and a smile escaped to my lips for a brief moment. For being an ex-SOLDIER, he sure was oblivious to his surroundings…Then again, it's not like I'm a normal human anyway.

"…."

He pulled out his sword and swiftly fitted it to his back with one hand. The other hand rubbed the back of his head, "Er, yeah. My sword's one of my few cherished possessions."

"Chopping wood?"

"Yeah…or I was," he gave a nervous smile, "I have a lot to do almost everyday with all the people that come to me for wood, water, and other services." I quirked an eyebrow at him, but he was too busy picking up the small logs to notice.

"Since you're letting me stay here…is there anything I can do to help?" He halted in his hauling for a moment to stare at me.

"….N-no…I can handle it. You're a guest, you should rest and relax." He then staggered forward with his load. I shook my head slightly, but decided it might be interesting to watch him for a while. He was definitely not the average type of human I normally come across.

'If he only knew what I really am…He wouldn't have even let me stay under his roof for one night. No one would. No human could ever accept me for what I was born with…'

"Wah!" My eyes widened slightly as Cloud streaked by me into the house, slamming the door behind him. Didn't stay shut for two seconds before it reopened and he yanked me inside too.

"What is it?" He had paled severely and was in the process of locking down his cabin.

"A-ah, I'm not here, ok? If she gets in somehow, I'm not here!" I stared at Cloud in disbelief as he pried up a few boards and went down into a hidden cellar. "I'm sorry!" he added before pulling them back over the hole.

"Cloud! Cloud!" A loud set of knocks on the door followed the calls for Cloud. The woman on the other side of the door didn't sound like there was any reason for Cloud to run from her...A grin crept across my face, 'I bet I can make her leave, no problem.' I picked up the Ishtar's flask and took a quick swig of the crimson liquid. Placing on my cape, I then slowly cracked the door after unlocking it. Keeping my face out of sight for now I asked in a low tone, "May I help you?"

"Ah! Yes, where is Cloud?" It was a brown-haired woman with quite a large bust, wearing a white shirt and brown shorts. She also wore a straw-hat upon her head. I slowly brought half of my face into view, taking care to show one of my glowing red eyes to her as I spoke, "He is no longer with the living, I'm afraid. He…has passed to live beneath the dirt." The girl was shaking slightly, and was apparently, at a loss for words.

"N-no!" I opened the door a little wider and stepped forward,

"I can send you to him, if you'd like. I'm sure he'd like some company…" With every step I took forward, she took one back.

"N-no! St-stay away from me—demon!" I let out a cliché hiss and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She was out of sight within five minutes. I let out a soft chuckle before I went back inside and locked the door. Taking a deep breath, I wondered how long I could stall before Cloud would deem that she's either gone, or she's beaten me until I had told where he was hiding. I let that breath out in a heavy sigh, 'He will find out sooner or later anyway…'

Kneeling down, I tapped on the boards Cloud has disappeared beneath, "She's gone…I doubt she'll be coming back to bother you anytime soon." 'Though you might be hearing something from some form of police force…' I then stood and kept my body turned towards the wall. Just maybe I could stall…

"Whew…You actually made her go away without her tearing the place apart for me? I owe you for that." I heard him fit the boards back in place, "She's never found me there, but she always tears apart the rest of the house looking for me," he then let out a sigh.

"You are allowing me to stay here, that's more than anyone else would do for me." A pause, or rather, a streak of awkward silence. Then came his first question,

"How did you make her go away?" The suspicion in his voice tore at me. Would he find out then slay me with that sword on his back? Or would he merely chase me from his home?

"I didn't hurt her, if that's what you think." A step forward.

"That didn't answer my question…"

"I scared her." Another step forward.

"She's not an easy girl to scare…..Why are you so intent on facing the wall…?" He took a step the side to try to see my face, but I turned further away from him.

"…."

"What are you so intent on hiding?" a hand started to move for my shoulder, to turn me around do doubt, and I tensed up. The hand never came. It had paused just a centimeter away, and then was pulled back as I heard a sigh. "When you're ready to tell someone….I'm here." With that, he walked outside to continue his work that had been interrupted. I continued to stare at the wall, lost in my own thoughts.

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'I don't understand, but it's not my place to demand information from him that really doesn't concern me…' With a heavy sigh, I placed the last of the wood onto the larger pile before I lifted one water jug and headed for the spring.

Five chores later, I was ready to pass out and hungry enough to eat a whole chocobo. I pushed open the door only to be greeted by a delicious smell that made me realize just how hungry I am. I look around to see one plate of food on the table, but Vincent was no where to been seen. Setting my sword down with a dull thud, I pick up a note beside the plate that reads:

_The food is for you. Don't worry about me. I've just gone out for a walk._

_--Vincent_

I set the note down slowly looking from the food to the door, 'Will he really be all right?' I then shook my head as I mumbled, "It's not my place to say where he can and can't go anyway." I started to pick at the food as a little voice nagged at me in the back of my head.

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The heat…The chaos…and the blood. I stood before a town that was being enveloped in flames. A terrible massacre had taken place here. And it only took three members of my kind to do it. Their scent still filled the ash-filled breeze so they had just recently passed by. Two I didn't recognize, but the other…

"--!" My head snapped upward and it was all I could do to bring up my metal arm that caused a loud 'clang' as a long sword bore down on me.

"Heh, not bad." I grit my teeth as my crimson eyes glared into a pair of glowing turquoise ones. Silver hair poured around me as we continued our stalemate, though I knew he was just toying with me.

"B-bastard!" I spit into his face and he added more force to the sword and twisted it, causing my body to lose balance. My shoulder collided with the ground and shot a nice pain up into it in return. I glared up at the other vampire as he wiped his face. To my disgust, he looked pleased.

"Now, now, Vincent…is that anyway to treat an old friend?" his cold, cocky, smirk remained as I growled,

"We were never friends and you know it! You not only massacre many innocent people, both vampire and human alike, but you've also found some twisted pleasure in trying to destroy my life!"

"Ah, yes…It's ever so amusing. You keep trying to get along with them. And my only goal is to make you open your eyes." He raised his sword up to my chin before I could make a move to rise and lunge at him, "You keep trying to befriend the pathetic humans…our food source…You continue to try to find happiness with them. I merely show you how they will betray you each and every time." A growl began to rise from deep within my throat, where was he going with this? "I'm sure you're growing impatient with me by now, so I'll drop you another hint. You have the sent of a human on you…yet, something is off. I cannot smell any of his blood on you. The blood I smell has had magic brewed into it." He pushed the blade tip closer to my throat, "Which must mean, you're trying to get along with someone else, no?" Whatever my face reflected, it was exactly what he'd been aiming for. He let out a dark chuckle, "Perhaps I should pay this one a visit too?"

The growl rose again from within me and I kicked the sword up enough for me to kick his legs out from under him as I cried, "You shall not harm him!" My golden claws then found flesh, but they were not allowed to get very far as a steel grip caught my wrist. "Ah, what's this? I know that tone." My heart almost stopped dead. No. "You're starting to act just like you did when you had met _her_." His cold smile sent a wave of ice through my blood. Then came his laugh, "Heh heh heh..ha ha ha ha, very well then! We shall make a game of this. Just slaughtering him would be far too easy and quick. I shall take him from you while his heart still beats and maybe this will be the final straw for your foolish heart. Then you will be able to move on and truly _live_!" He let go of my wrist and jumped back several feet. "We shall meet again very soon, Vincent! Better enjoy your little dream, for I shall shatter your mind back into reality!" I pulled out a small pistol and began to fire, but he merely shimmered away, his horrid laugh still ringing in my ears and I fell to my knees. This…would not end well.

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((AN: Good? Bad? Reviews please. x3 This chapter was a bit shorter than what I originally wanted…but I needed to get this bugger out all ready. X.x; I hadn't planned on bringing in that latest char, but a writers block forced me too. TT Don't hurt me. ))


	5. Warning

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** AU,OOC…blood/gore, language, and shounen-ai…'Tis all for now.

**Note:** Ok, everything is back in its place now. It hasn't been long since I placed this up, asking for opinions, but I did get one opinion that liked this chapter best. Therefore I went ahead and typed up chapter 6 to follow this chapter 5 version and removed the original chapter 5.

**Chapter 05**: Warning

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A slow walk back was all my legs would stand for, despite the increasing panic welling up

within me.

'He has destroyed every part of my life he's ever touched…I cannot let him harm Cloud…Someone who has nothing to do with his twisted views…Someone who allowed a monster like myself into his home, even if he didn't know the full truth of what I am. I can…**not** allow a repeat of her…The one that was my first taste of true love…He took that away from me too.'

A cool sensation started to trail down my cheek and my finger rose to meet it only to find that it was a drop of water. A tear perhaps?

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"That was pretty good…" I let out a content sigh before rising to wash my plate. A knock at the door a few moments later prevents me from lying down for a small nap, "Coming!" I crack open the door before opening it fully as I give a small smile to a woman dressed in pink, "Ms. Aerith, it has been a while. Do you wish to come in?" She gave me a kind smile and gently shook her head, causing her braid to sway a bit,

"No, I just dropped by to give you these. Thought it might be nice to see something different from the flora around these woods," she handed me a small bouquet of white lilies before adding, "Oh, but since I'm here, would you mind dropping by the old church later today with some of your spring water? The flowers seem to love it so." I couldn't help but return her kind smile with a small one of my own as I nodded.

"No problem, I was planning on heading to Kalm later today anyway. I'll make the extra trip to Midgar instead."

"Are you sure you don't mind? I know it's an awful long trip…"

"You walked here from there, didn't you? It's no trouble at all, honestly." She beamed at me before placing a small kiss on my cheek as she said, "Thank you!"

"See you later then!" I called out to her and she turned to wave before continuing her long walk back home. Before I could turn around to head into the house, I saw Vincent walking up to me.

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"Friend of yours?" I asked him while looking at the pure white lilies he had in his hand. He chuckled as he said,

"Yeah. With the way she fusses over me, you could say Ishtar is like a grandmother to me while she is like a younger sister. No blood relation to either though, mind you."

"I see…" The whimsical look over his face was replaced with worry as he looked over at me, "You ok?" I gave a week nod as I replied,

"Yes. Just thinking. I should be leaving now…Thank you…for your…hospitality." Once again, kind words are not my forte. He gave me a frown,

"Where are you headed to? I'm off to Midgar, I could give you a ride?" A ride to any town sounded much better than walking, but if his mode of transportation was that motorcycle propped up against his house, I'd definitely have to decline. I don't know what would happen if my craving hit me when in close proximity to a possible food source.

"No, motorcycles don't agree with me. I have terrible luck on them." He quirked a brow at me and looked to his vehicle,

"That old thing you mean? Haha, no, I'm not going on that. It wouldn't have enough gas to make it to Midgar. I planned on taking the cart once I get a chocobo from the nearest farm. Sure you don't want a lift?" I stayed silent for a while, taking in the information slowly. With a cart, even if it was full, I wouldn't have to be near as close to Cloud and that would hopefully keep my craving at bay…With a little help from the last of Ishtar's enchanted liquid.

"…..I suppose that would work." He gave me a smile,

"Great! Let me go put these in some water before I head off. You can wait here while I go get that chocobo. I'll just be riding my bike to the farm and then I'll ride the bird back here."

"Not afraid your bike might be stolen?" I said as I sat down on Cloud's bed while he arranged the flowers slightly now that it was in a vase.

"Haha, no. I have a deal with farm's owner. I leave my bike as payment for borrowing one of their fastest chocobos and then I get it back for the bird's safe return." I gave a nod, "Makes sense. And is a reasonable trade, so long as the bike is in good condition, and the bird healthy."

"Yup, well, I'll be off then. I don't need the sun to set before I can get the bird back." This startled me slightly, "Sunset? It will take that long?" He scratched his head,

"Weeelll….Depends on the bird I get, really. Either way, it would be best to set out tomorrow morning. Easier on the animal not to make two long trips back-to-back…Y'know?" I nodded, but this did not bode well. Not only was Ishtar's bottle almost empty, but that man was bound to show up very soon if I didn't get away from Cloud as quickly as possible. He gave me a worried look, "Help yourself to anything in the house. Food, shower, anything. Understand?" I blinked a few times in surprise at his tone and the fact that he was staring at me intently until I looked him in the eyes and gave him a firm nod, "Alright." He nodded back, satisfied, and waved as he walked out the door. After a few moments of silence, an engine started up and was soon out of my hearing range. With silence my only company, I set my head down on his pillow and drifted into a soft slumber.

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Swift rapping on the front door awoke me, and judging by the light from outside, about three hours had passed since I had fallen asleep. Still groggy, I was quite satisfied in staying put, but the rapping only got louder as it was further ignored. With a irritated sigh, I got up and unlocked the door, cracking it open to only have my heart fill with fear upon seeing the visitor.

"Why, hello again, Vincent." He gave a cold smirk and I returned it with an icy glare. "Is the owner of the quaint cabin home? I would like to meet such a person who lives out here and seems to enjoy it."

"There's no one else here! Go away!" I growled, but he only smiled. Before I could move, he was on the other side of the door, looking around, "Well, well…it's a quaint inside as it is out."

"Leave! You have no business here!"

"Ah, but I do…" he smirked at me as he plucked one of the lilies from the vase, twirling in his fingers before crushing the entire blossom, "You don't wield any form of sword or axe. So how did the wood get chopped, by your gun? I doubt that. You don't need human food, so why have a freezer? Or dirty dishes, hmm? This is a human's residence, no doubt." I could only continue to glare at him and try to keep my body from trembling. He took several steps towards me and stopped when he was just behind me, "I will return again. I'm sure the human will return by two day's time. Take care until then…Vincent." My knees gave way and I fell to them as his horrible laughter faded away with him. I cannot allow Cloud to come back to this place alone. I will not allow him to fall victim to that demon's grasp. I will not allow that nightmare to succeed as long as there is breath in me.

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"Easy there," I muttered to the excited chocobo. He almost dragged me off my feet, trying to get to the spring water, "Stop it, stupid thing! You want to get burned?" I gave a hard yank on the reigns and got it close enough to a small tree before tying it. "There," I huffed after giving it a trough of water and some food, "Greedy bird, aren't you?" The bird stopped and lifted its head, cocking it to the side as it stared at me. After a moment, it went right back to drinking. I left out a heavy sigh before heading into my house. Lighting a lamp, enough light was shed to see Vincent's form on my bed. It appeared as if he'd fallen asleep while gazing out my window since he was propped up more on the wall than the bed. Shaking my head slightly, I nudged him enough to get an eye open, "You'll end up with an awful pain in the neck if you sleep like that all night. I don't mind you sleeping there, just don't need you hurt to start off with when we leave in the mourning." He sat up straight, apparently now more awake,

"I'm sorry…I don't remember even falling asleep…"

"It's fine. I'll sleep on the floor tonight, I don't mind." (1) He gained a guilty look on his face before I heard a soft mutter, "Thanks…" I smiled to myself as I blew out the lamp,

"Good night."

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((Ok, 3:30am, and I'm ready to call it a night myself. X.x; Good? Bad? Oh, and before I forget:

(1) I reread the first 3 chapters (and part of the fourth) only to realize that Cloud should have been sleeping on the futon from the getgo….oops. xP ))


	6. Ishtar's Gift

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** AU,OOC…blood/gore, language, and shounen-ai…'Tis all for now.

**Note:** This is truly chapter 6! I've moved the proper chapter 5 into its correct place. Forgive me if this has any grammar or spelling errors, I finished it up around 3am. x.x;

**Chapter 06**: Ishtar's Gift

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Soft chirping sounds of the forest birds awaking just before sunrise began just as I opened my eyes. It seems today I woke up before my quiet, outdoor alarm clocks did. Sitting up, I ruffle my hair with my hand as I rub it sleepily. I hear a soft noise over to my right and look to see Vincent fast asleep on me bed. A smile couldn't help but escape onto my lips as I noticed he was wrapped within the blankets tightly, all the way up to his nose. Sighing softly, I stand as I stretch. 'I'll wake him if he's still not up by the time I've finished with breakfast.' I grab some fresh clothes of out the dresser before heading to the bathroom, 'But before breakfast, a shower is a must.'

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The squeak of a knob turning and the sound of water pouring down slowly dragged me out of the sleep I had been so happy with. Begrudgingly, I merely rolled over and sunk deeper in the blankets as I tried to fall back into that slumber, all to no avail. By the time I was almost back, the clanking of metal and the popping of food being heated dragged me back into full awareness, despite my wishes. Groggy still, I merely sat up and stared blankly in front of me until I heard chuckling,

"You're not too much of a morning person, are you?" I just grunted at the all-too-happy-at-this-hour blonde. He chuckled again, "You'll want to freshen up before we go…or at least comb your hair." By his tone, I could only imagine how much of my hair was in disarray, but at the moment…I don't care. I fell back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling,

"Too damn early."

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"The cart is loaded and ready, Vincent! You coming or not?" I call out towards the house, as I tap my foot impatiently. If I am going to get to Midgar and then Kalm before too long after dark, we have to get going.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." I hear him mutter as he walks out and shuts the front door. "Aren't you going to lock the door though? I definitely don't have a key."

"Oops! Almost forgot…" I pull out a key and proceed to lock the door, but just as I finish, I hear a familiar voice,

"Leaving for town, Mr. Strife?" I turn around to see Ishtar and I nod my head in confirmation,

"Yes, I'm heading to Midgar to deliver this to Aerith. Oh, and I'm dropping Vincent off in town too." She looked over at Vincent when his name was mentioned and smiled.

"Hello again. How is your head doing?"

"…Fine…ma'am…" Vincent sounded as if he had to force out those few words, his voice strained specifically at the second.

"Did you enjoy that drink I gave you? I'm sorry I don't have any more on me, I'm afraid you'll have to make do without." Vincent seemed to pale a little upon hearing this, but Ishtar turned back towards me, "Are you sure your house is safe with just that lock? I know you get terribly ill whenever you're around supernatural beings…Ghosts, and vampires most common threats…"

---------

My head snapped over to the conversation when Ishtar spoke those words. 'He gets ill when near my kind? He doesn't look very sick to me…'

"Yes, I know. I've been known to pass out sometimes too, especially if they touch me…But I've not run into anything for sometime now. Plus, ghosts don't often follow me home." Cloud muttered, scratching the back of his head. Ishtar began to fuss over him even more,

"Tsk, Tsk, I can't allow them to do that. How about instead of gil this time, in exchange for my usual order of course, I give you a charm to keep them out of your house."

"No, I don't think—"

"You'll deny an old woman, and friend one little favor then, will you?"

"No..but…"

"Great! I have all the needed ingredients right here with me then. I just need three hairs…" she spoke as she pulled what looked like a silver wind chime out of the basket on her arm. Its swiveling centerpiece was a pentagon shape with intricate weavings on them, as well as runes running along the edges. The top was shaped like a shallow cone, and has small holes periodically around its edge.

"Hairs? Mine?" Cloud asked quizzically, obviously confused.

"No, just one from you…" she plucked one strand from Cloud's head and he flinched before rubbing the area she had pulled it from. "One from me…" she plucked one from her own head before looking at me. Cloud's gaze soon followed.

"What?" I asked, knowing good and well what that woman's gaze meant. She walked over to me and motioned for me to lean down towards her,

"Lean closer," she whispered and I leaned down a little more to hear her.

"Ow!" I griped as she plucked three strands of my hair out as she said,

"Thank you!" I glared at her for a moment before turning it to Cloud, who was starting to fail at trying not to chuckle. When I looked back over at Ishtar, she had braided the strands together and was weaving them into the holes at the top, almost like sewing a piece of cloth up. When she finished, the piece gained a faint blue glow before returning to normal.

"There, all done. Vincent, will you be a dear and hand this above the door for me? It doesn't need any nails, just tack it up there." I eyed the piece for a moment. If this thing was supposed to keep vampires and the undead out, what would it do to me if I were to touch it? Nonetheless… If she meant me harm, she could have taken care of me out in the woods when we first met.

"Go on, it won't bite you." She smiled.

"Why did you need our hair?" Cloud asked as he gazed at the piece. She chuckled and replied,

"You are the one being protected. Why not have a piece of your DNA within the charm?"

"Then why yours and his too?"

"My, aren't you curious today…Let's just say…charms work well when there are three components attached." My gaze met hers as she said that just for one moment before she looked back to Cloud and said, "Now, will you get me my order before you leave?"

"Oh! Right! Just a moment." He then hurried off to go get whatever her 'order' was. When he went around the corner of the house, she took a few steps towards me and said lowly,

"If you haven't guessed already, that charm will not work against you."

"Why did you do that?" I asked her, suspicion thick within my voice, even to my own ears.

"Why, isn't it obvious? The fact that he isn't on the ground, half-dead, says one thing. You're different than the others of your kind…How? I'm not exactly sure, but what I do know is that you don't have the strong blood lust that most of the others do. And he seems to be fond of your company. I don't think he would be happy if he could never have you visit again." I opened my mouth to press the matter further, but Cloud came back around the corner with a basket full of wood and a jar of water.

"Here you go, Mrs—" he faltered when she gave him a glare, "Er…Ishtar." She then beamed at him,

"Thank you, you're such a good boy." Cloud made a slight face when she uttered the term 'boy,' but took the other basket from her arm and gave her the full one.

"Take care. We must be off before the sun gets any higher in the sky, and the chocobo I borrowed is getting restless." Ishtar nodded in agreement, and turned to leave. Though she called over her shoulder,

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Vincent, no matter what happens." My jaw went slack with that comment as Cloud looked to me questioningly. I just shrugged and pointed at the cart,

"Are we going to leave now, or not?" Cloud nodded,

"Right, let's set off then!"

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((AN: So, good? Bad? Reviews on how I'm doing do affect the story as well as when I'm willing to update. ))


	7. Road Trip

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** Look to previous chapters.

**Note:** OMG….All of you…just…thank you. X3 Thank you so much far all the reviews, watches, and favs. This story is seems to be the biggest hit so far out of all my fics. Sorry I kept all of you waiting for so long. Hope this chapter keeps up with expectations. And please excuse and grammar and spelling errors (as always) because I tend to type these things up late at night. (Or should I say early morning? XD )

**Chapter 07**: Road Trip

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"Why…" I turned to glance at Vincent, who had sunk down in his corner in the back of the cart, "Is it so damn hot here?" He tugged at the part of the cloak that covered the lower section of his face.

"Might help if you weren't dressed like it is winter in the peak of the summer heat." I received a grunt in response before he removed the cloak and attempted to use it as a shield from the sun's heat. Though we haven't been on the move for very long, the forest canopy had passed and no longer provided minimal heat relief along with the shade. I definitely can't blame him for complaining, sweat had already begun to bead up upon my brow even though I wasn't as heavily clothed as he. The poor beast doing all the work will not be able to go for long stretches like I'd hoped. The creature was already beginning to try to slow down. "Hi-ya!" I yelled as I snapped the reins attached to the bit in the chocobo's mouth. It picked up its pace once more. After several minutes of silence, I called back to Vincent, "The first oasis is about an hour away after we pass that hill up ahead. We'll stop for a rest and cool off there."

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"Oh, an hour? Is that all?" I said dryly, trying to make the dripping sarcasm in my voice thoroughly known. Between just being directly in the sun and this unbearable heat, I was becoming irritable. Not to mention, the craving was working its way back into my system due to the stress.

In an attempt to get it all off my mind, I turned to look at the passing scenery but it did not help much. There was nothing out there asides from dying grass…miles and miles of dying grass. How could there possibly be an oasis out among all of this? The ground only seems to be getting dryer as the minutes passed along with the terrain. The dry grass became sparse with light dirt mixed in patches before the grass gave way to become a minority. The dry sand blew up every now and then; causing me to clench my eyes shut or suffer pain. "Why is this area so barren? And how can there possibly be an oasis here when everything only seems to be getting dryer?" I called up towards Cloud just after a large gust of wind and sand has passed. He snapped the reigns attached to the feathered beast before turning back towards me. Sweat was running down his unusually pale face and strain was apparent within his faintly glowing eyes, "It's the remains of a battle ground. I don't much like riding through here, but it's the fastest route to the oasis. Just after we clear here, we'll come across it. I normally don't pass by unless it's a must and this poor beast won't last much longer at this pace, but neither will I if we slow down." He then turned and yelled at the bird, urging it onward still. Now that I actually took the time to look at him, he was not sitting up as straight as usual and the jarring of the ride affected him more than it should.

Rising to a kneeling position, I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Move over, I'll take the reigns." He gave a weak nod and slid over enough for me to take a seat beside him. I grabbed the reigns and snapped them hard, the bird gave a loud 'wark' before picking up his speed a bit more. With something to focus my mind on, I became more alert again despite the horrid heat. I am ashamed that I didn't realize the strong supernatural powers within this area sooner.

A quick glance over to Cloud confirmed that I was right to take the reigns from him. Even if I didn't know where to go specifically, I was far more coherent than him. It was all he could do to remain upright and it looked as if his stomach was protesting any food within it. The cart violently went over a rock and forced him to lean over the cart and allow his stomach to remove its contents. After he was done heaving, I pulled him by the back of his shirt until he was upright once more. It appeared that he didn't even have the energy to sit back up on his own. "There…to the…le..ft…" his voice was so weak that I wasn't sure if I had even heard anything at all, but a glance to the left revealed grass once more and I urged the chocobo towards it at once, threatening to up heave some of the cart's contents. The lush oasis came into view as soon as the cart reached the grassy turf and it did not take long for us to reach there with me at the reigns. I'm sure the chocobo will be quite happy to obey Cloud after dealing with me.

I allowed the beast to run right up to the water and jumped off the cart before it fully stopped. I went to the other side and helped Cloud down, leading him to the water side. He sunk to his knees as soon as I released him before slowly trying to cup enough water in his hand to drink. He was shaking so hard, that it was a futile effort. With a sigh I knelt beside him and used my hand that was not metal to cup some water for him. He gave me a grateful, but apologetic, glance before accepting my help. When he was through with taking water, I helped him to the base of a shady tree and let him prop up on it as he waited for his strength to return.

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Everything was a haze of pain still, despite the fact that nothing had followed us out of the barren field, that, I was thankful for beyond words. For now, my breathing could only be worked on if I were to shut my eyes, but a deep fear still resided within me. The passage through had been far too easy. Nothing had touched me. All of them only seemed to waver from me once Vincent took the reigns. Something wasn't right. Something had to be amiss. When I couldn't lift myself back up, a spirit had come very close to my face, but it blanched and disappeared when Vincent grabbed my shirt to pull me back up. Through the haze I glanced over at him with some difficulty. I've known something was different about him, but I still can't place my finger on it.

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Pressing my luck to the fullest was my only option now. My craving was coming nearer, especially with all the exertion of energy that ride took. With the last swig of Ishtar's liquid within my system, I'd say Cloud has until midnight before he, along with anyone else, would no longer be safe around me. Sighing heavily at the empty container, I chunked it across the large spring, only to let out a yelp as it came flying back at me. It hit the back of my head with a sound 'clunk' and I began to mutter furiously at it. A pained laugh caused me to stop my muttering and look over at Cloud who was clutching his stomach while chuckling. He said through a still slightly strained voice, "Things seem to be prone to hitting you in the head, no?" I turned away from him quickly while his eyes were still shut and grumbled a response. I almost let him see my eyes too soon after consuming that liquid. That surely would have sent him into an alarm and in his condition; I doubt his body could take the shock. I have no intention of being left out here in the middle of nowhere either.

Standing up, I shoved the container back into my pocket begrudgingly before muttering, "I'm going to see if there's anything around here…You'll be ok, right?" A faint 'yes' was all I needed before I began to walk along the edge of the water, keeping an eye out for anything that might be edible for a human. He would need his strength to continue on and the energy reserves in his stomach got left back somewhere on that barren field. After some searching I came across a long yellow fruit that grew in bunches. Deeming this as edible, I grabbed it and turned to head back.

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Upon hearing a soft noise, I opened my eyes only to see a large bunch of bananas dangling a little ways away from my face. As I blink to refocus and glance up to see Vincent he says, "I figured you would need something on your stomach…" Before I could reply, he dropped them into my lap and turned to head for the shade of a tree across from where I sit. I murmured a 'thank you' before looking at the fruit. Not really a favorite of mine, but he is right. I do need something back onto my stomach.

I pluck one from the bunch and peel the skin away before glancing at the fruit underneath. Deeming it to be edible still, I take a bite as my mind wanders back to Vincent.

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The heavy weight that is the feeling of being watched I recognize all too easily. I keep my head turned towards the water while my eyes scout towards my left. Even so, Cloud noticed my shift in attention and looked away. Had he been staring at me? Or was it just a glance? Is he starting to suspect what I truly am? Should I continue to press my luck, or even come out with the truth to get it over with? I just don't know. His eyes came back around and met mine for a moment. Blue seem to burn into my crimson, and apparently, disturbed Cloud enough for both of us to avert our eyes. Why is it that some gazes seem to hold so much power over us? Over humans and every other living creature that still has at least some sanity…

"We should get going again. The chocobo has had plenty of time to recuperate and I feel much better." He stood as he spoke as if to prove his point. I gave him a nod and stood as well while noticing he held five of the fruit still in his hand, probably incase he needed them later on before we reached a town.

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With the sun beating down upon my head relentlessly once more, I had retreated under my cloak in my particular corner of the cart. Cloud had offered for me to sit up front with him, but I had refused for more reasons than he knew. The terrain we passed over was hot, but very lush despite the odds. At least until we began to near the little town of Kalm. The grass thinned from well-traveled paths and soon gave way to cobblestone roads. The cart slowed and Cloud got down, leading the fatigued beast to the fountain. He didn't have to—it nearly dragged him to the water. He glared at the 'greedy' bird before sighing as he turned to me, "I'm going to speak to a friend that is staying here. Would you mind looking over the cart for me?" I shook my head to tell him that I didn't mind after placing my cloak to its normal position and sitting where Cloud had been. I watch him walk off into a little bar before turning my attention to the chocobo, who was looking around at the serene bustle of this small town. People came and went, but at their own pace…unlike the common speed in the big cities—which seems to be a sort of turbo drive. I gazed lazily at the different humans that passed by, they all either stopped to stare at me or acted like I had the plaque once I caught them looking at me. The exception was a little punk that continued to glare at me from an alleyway, but he is no human. A vampire or something else, I cannot tell from what little I can see and smell of him…He does not seem to like my presence here though, which means he must be an orphaned werewolf child. Many of the werewolves have a righteous sense to them. They frown upon the bloodlust that so many vampires have even though they lose themselves a week at a time each month—humans outcast them because of this. If it weren't for that savage week of living, the humans might consider them a great ally—maybe even a savior of sorts.

My thoughts stopped that train when the boy stood—only…He turns out to be a she in truth. She looked around to make sure there was no human too close before walking a steady, slow pace towards me, all the while, her eyes burning with some sort of hatred. When she stood right next to the cart she hissed lowly, "How dare you show yourself in this town, vampire, hasn't this town suffered enough from your kind already? And what kind of magic have you cast on Cloud?" I stiffened upon her accusations and my voice came out steely,

"I have done nothing to this town, nor do I plan to. How is it that you know Cloud? What is your connection to him, wolf?" She growled with a bestial tone, disturbing the chocobo slightly, "How _dare_ you! Of course I know him, so does everyone in this town! He has done much for this town and talked the village into sparing my life when my true blood was discovered!" She paused as if to regain control over herself before continuing, "You did not answer me—what have you done to him! He gets sick around things like _you_." I did not like the way she spat the word indicating me and had to fight to keep my own temper down.

"You impudent brat, I have done nothing to him. I was lead to him by a witch and it has been made clear that I should not leave his side any time soon. An old enemy of mine has set his sights on him and I shall not let harm come to Cloud in that form!" She shrank back from me slightly as my voice had risen as I spoke, along with a slight flash of fangs to prove my temper was becoming short. When she spoke again, it was in a very small voice, "You…don't make him sick? You've not done something to him to prevent the sickness?" I shook my head and her visage became thoughtful as she scanned me over once again. She then smiled, "I'll trust you then! It is surely a miracle or fate that has you with him then. Keep a good watch over him or I'll round up the most hellish pack to come after you!" Her tone was a sweet as sugar, but as deadly as any poison. I nodded once more and she retreated back to her spot within the alley way just as Cloud emerged from the bar. He held a silver flask and tossed it to me when he was closer. "To replace what you ran out of before, I described the bottle to my friend and he gave me that." I looked down at it and laughed inwardly. He thinks I have an alcohol habit? I then spoke before I could stop myself, "I may have a drinking problem, but it's not quite this sort of thing." He looked at me quizzically, almost suspiciously and I quickly tried to change the subject, "Is that all you stopped here for?" He shook his head as I slipped into the back of the cart again so that he could take a seat in the front.

"I just asked about the news and such. Just keeping up with the outside world the best I can…y'know?" I nodded as he turned back around to get the chocobo back into motion. It is doubtful that I will be able to keep my identity a secret from Cloud much longer if I continue to stay with him…But I can't allow that demon to harm him just because he's had a connection to me. I sigh again as I turn my gaze to the scenery. This road may be longer and rougher than I originally thought.

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((AN: Good? Bad? Reviews drive me to update! X3 ))


	8. Secret Revealed

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** Look to previous chapters.

**Note:** Long time no update. xP Sorry, classes have been rough along with the fact that I lost inspiration for writing until I saw a music video featuring Vincent and a few recent reviews ended up in my mailbox. x3 I tried to make this a bit long, but it still ended up shorter than the last chapter. As always, please excuse grammar and spelling errors.

**Chapter 08**: Secret Revealed

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"Hey…Vincent…? Vincent? _Vincent_!"

My eyes flashed open to see Cloud with a red-orange and blue sky behind his face. He gave a heavy sigh (of relief?) before speaking, "You really gave me a scare when you passed out back there, you fell right out of the cart!" I could only blink at him as I tried to search my memory for any recollection of what had happened…only to fail. "You okay?" he frowned as worry overtook his visage once more. Shuddering against a dull pain, I forced my body to sit upright before muttering, "What happened?" as I grabbed the back of my head. I could feel another headache coming on, joy. Cloud sighed as he sat down himself, "I was hoping you could tell me. I heard you muttering something and I turned around just in time to see you falling backwards. You couldn't have been sitting down to have fallen off, but…" He trailed off and stared at me as I gazed at the ground. What had happened?

…A message? …Yes. I was sent a message that had flooded my mind and blinded my senses. My body must have stood upright in violent protest of the invasion before shutting itself down…The message was what though? My hands clasped my throbbing head, though it would not stop the pain. Cloud was obviously worried about me as I could hear him fidget slightly with the grass beneath his hands and could smell the anxiety flowing through his blood.

A flash of colors overtook my senses, causing me to double over. I briefly saw Cloud start to move before the colors and pain returned. Only this time, the colors formed a view. I see flames, smoke and blood filling my nostrils while despair wracks my chest with pain unbearable. Somehow, Ishtar's voice filters into my mind as well, "If you don't like what you see and feel, try to listen to what you feel rather than what you think. That white-haired devil will destroy everything around you if you do not prepare yourself." The vision of flames whirled around me before opening a path around the white-haired devil that she spoke of. Her voice rose once more as the colors, sounds, and smells faded, "I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you of the after effects of that enchanted blood I gave you." As her words faded, so did my consciousness.

Feeling a cool, light pressure on my forehead roused my senses slowly. My hearing returned first and I could hear two voices.

"Are you sure that is all that happened?" this voice was female, and unfamiliar.

"Yes, yes, it is as I said! He will be alright though…right?" Cloud. He sounded very distraught.

"He should be…yes…but…" the female trailed off, as if afraid to continue.

My body finally caught up with my brain and I was able to let out a groan as the pain came rolling in, stronger than the force of a tsunami.

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I glanced over to see Vincent curl up with his knees tucked to his chest as an apparent pain coursed through him. He looked like he had gotten hit by a train before Aerith had cast some of her healing spells on him. It was a wonder he could move, yet alone still breathe. He uncurled suddenly and sat up before trying to stand, but as soon as his feet hit the ground, he began to fall. I managed to catch him with some difficulty. Aerith immediately began to scold, "Hey now! You came close to death; you shouldn't be walking around yet!" I made him sit back down on the bed as he muttered through a pained voice, "I'm fine…"

"No, you're not." I grumped. I'm sick of worrying about him and his health while not knowing how to help. He looked up and glared at me before adding, "I _will_ be fine then, happy?" Aerith sighed, "Men." Before walking out of the room, she called out behind her, "Keep an eye on him, Cloud. I'm going to get some herbs for you to take with you to the inn." I sat down across the room from Vincent in a wooden chair before a glare showdown began between the two of us. Neither of us moved until Aerith returned, and she promptly grumbled about our stubbornness.

I stood and moved towards Vincent as she did, he began to look back and forth between the two of us very nervously. We glanced at each other before we grabbed him by the shoulders; he let out a small noise in surprise as I hoisted him up, with Aerith helping on the other side as best she could.

"W-what are you two doing!?" Vincent snapped angrily as we lead him out of the room, supporting him to the point where he couldn't walk very well even if he was fit to walk. "Oh, quit your whining, you're a man—aren't you! You're not well enough to walk, but I can't let you take my one and only bed, so we're moving you to the inn a little ways away from here," Aerith puffed, "You'll only have to suffer this to Cloud's cart anyway." This didn't seem to console him at all as he continued to fuss somewhat. We set him down on the front seat where I normally rode so that I would be able to keep a better eye on him. He was less than pleased at this, but I couldn't help but smile at his small tantrum.

He calmly took the basket of herbs and potions from Aerith though and mumbled a, "Thanks," before glaring ahead into the darkness of the night. Sighing, I waved to Aerith before urging the chocobo forward. I heard her call out to us,

"Make sure to drop back by before you head back home!"

The ride was calm enough, I kept glancing over towards Vincent, who seemed to be forcing himself into a trance…Probably trying to block out any pains. Aerith had been right though; the inn wasn't far and was pleasant looking for its location. I pulled on the reigns to stop the cart and got down before moving to the other side. Vincent's gazed followed my every movement, suspicious, I'm sure…but he had every right to be. Moving as quickly to avoid as much pain as possible, I removed the basket from his lap before pulling him off of the cart. He flailed slightly as he lost his balance and began to flail all the more when he realized he had landed in my arms, "I can WALK dammit!" he growled furiously and slipped out of my grasp, landing on his butt. I put a hand to my face and peeked through my fingers as he glowered at me as if to say, 'not one word.'

I held out my hand to him after a few minutes of letting him stew in his own humiliation—or whatever was eating him, "At least lean on my shoulder to get up to the room?" When he gave me a 'hmph' I narrowed my eyes, "Or I could carry you, your choice." He snapped his head around as if to say, 'you wouldn't dare' but then quickly grabbed my outstretched hand and allowed me to throw one of his arms over my shoulder. He grabbed the basket with the other before he allowed me to lead him into the inn. The innkeeper greeted us as we came in the door, "Hello, welcome…Has there been some trouble outside?" She looked worriedly out the front window and I replied, "No, no. My friend here just passed out and hit his head…Might have been from today's heat, may be lodge here for a few days?" She gave me a sad smile, "Sadly, not for free. I have to eat myself you know…Can you pay 100gil a night?" I cringed inwardly but nodded to her, that would mean we could stay only two nights and have nothing to eat on the third day. She beamed and grabbed a key before humming, "Follow me!"

She led us to the second floor and unlocked the room before leaving us, and announcing that since she rarely received customers these days she could only provide lunch or supper for us each night that we stayed. Perhaps Aerith would be able to help provide at least a little food from her garden; otherwise we may have to press on back to my home…

"Earth to Cloud! You can let go now." I snapped out of my thoughts and allowed Vincent to sit on the closest bed.

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Cloud went back off onto his previous daze that he was in before he let me go. He seemed troubled, but exactly about what, I can't say. I'm not nearly as hurt as he thinks. The effects of that odd…after-effect was beginning to wear off finally. By morning, I'd most likely be back to normal. Though…it won't matter if I don't get something on my stomach soon…Damn it.

"What's wrong? You're stomach hurt?" Cloud said as he sat down beside me. Idiot. I turned away from him, "Yes, I'm just getting hungry. You should leave me here."

"What?? I can't just bring you to an inn and ditch you! Besides, why would I want to do a thing like that?" He put a hand on my shoulder and I quickly shrugged it off, but he retaliated by grabbing it again and jerking me around, before he could speak I growled with venom behind my words, "Leave if you value your life, you idiot!" I tried to stand up and back away from him, only to lose the strength in my legs before falling to my knees on the floor. Cloud was standing now himself. He was poised in a weary, but guarded, stance, "What do you mean 'if I value my life'? …What's going on, Vincent?"

"I can only hold it back for about another hour or so. If you don't leave, I'll lose control over it and kill you!" One step back.

"It?"

"…My…bloodlust." Another step.

"You…You're a—"

"A vampire, Cloud." Two steps back. Soon the steps would fade off in the distance, just as soon as the running started.

Or that is what I hoped for at least, instead, I heard a step forward and looked up,

"Are you really…? One of them?" Cloud has a steely glare within his eyes. Shit. I try to stand and only succeed in two steps backwards before my knees fail again. Another bold step forward, "You feed off of human blood…" He pulls out a knife from his pocket, I'm sure it is meant to spill my blood quite easily. Another step forward, "Answer me, tell me your reason for toying with me." I met his cold gaze after glancing at the blade he had pointed at me.

"There is no reason. Yes, I am a vampire. Yes, I have to take blood from other humans in order to survive. However, I have never toyed with you. Had you ever been a target of mine, you would have been dead the first night we met."

"Don't lie to me." His voice lost all emotion except something colder than ice that caused a shudder to go down my spine.

"What makes you think I'm lying!?" I spat, if he was going to kill me, he should get it over with!

"Because every other vampire and spirit makes me ill beyond belief! What have you done to me!?" I blinked for a moment. The werewolf girl had accused me of the same thing, but I have truly done nothing.

"Nothing. Nothing at all! I don't know why I am different!" He glared at me, but before he could say anything more, I added, "If you are going to kill me, then do it! I'm sick of living a life that no one cares for!" He blinked for a moment, clearly not expecting me to say anything like that before his glare returned and he knelt down in front of me. I clinched my eyes shut as I saw the knife move. The sent of blood filled my nose, but it was not mine. I opened an eye before gawking at Cloud. He held his cut wrist up towards my mouth as he said, "Just leave me with enough to live, that's possible, right?"

I felt a heat come to my cheeks as I had never been in a situation like this before. But, not wanting to let a drop of the offered blood go to waste, I accepted the gesture. I could feel him wince at my touch, but he remained deathly still. The benefit of the situation for Cloud is that my saliva is the better kind as far as vampires go. There are some who have poisonous saliva, but mine helps to heal a small wound on a human body, thus it is hard for my victims to be identified as a victim of a vampire attack. Giving the wound one parting lick, I turned and ripped a small part off of the end of my cloak to wrap around Cloud's wrist. He winced again and weakly said, "That's it?" I looked up at him with eyes that I knew were still aglow from his blood, "Yes. I really don't need much if I time my meals right, but I usually can't leave my unwilling donors alive." He stared at me bravely, examining my eyes as I returned his stare with silence. Suddenly though, he looked down at his wrist, "Hm? It doesn't hurt any more?" I gave him a faint nod, "It should be fully healed by morning….Why?" He then turned his gaze back to me, giving me a questioning look. "Why did you do that? You could have killed me. You could have run. Either way, I wouldn't have stopped you." He remained silent for a time, turning over my questions, no doubt.

"Why indeed…Guess we'll find out what comes of my actions soon enough, eh?" He gave a small smile that didn't quite hide the uncertainty that radiated from him. I set a hand on his shoulder, "I won't be offended. You can still run, or even kill me, whenever you wish." With that, I carefully stood and flopped onto the bed closest to me. I'm so very tired all of a sudden…

A light weight covered me and I peered through one eye to see Cloud moving to his bed. He had placed a light blanket from his bed over me. Humans…are odd…that…is certain…Succumbing to the great desire pulling at my mind; I let my consciousness fade to the blackness of sleep.

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((AN: Ok, did I completely screw up the story with this chapter? x.x; If many people feel it ruins the feel of the story, I may try to rewrite it…but I hope I can keep moving forward without having to do that. Review please to let me know how I'm doing! x3 ))


	9. Run Away

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** Look to previous chapters.

**Note:** Wooow, it took me a long time just to get this much written—and it's shorter than what I wanted! So sorry for the horrid wait. School's been a literal nightmare for me as of this semester and all. Thanks for all the reviews so far. I haven't been ignoring them and they keep reminding me that I have a few stories to finish! Forgive grammar issues and if the chapter doesn't flow too well…I did write this off and on over several months. xP This is also the second 'chapter 9' I've written. Hopefully, this version is the better choice.

**Chapter 09**: Run Away

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The pale morning light filtered in through the window separating the two beds in the room and I glared viciously at the sun as if that would be enough to make it go back down. The offending light wasn't disturbing just me though as it caused Cloud to stir as well in the other bed, shoving his head under the pillow for the moment. Now far too awake for my own liking, I sit up before rubbing my face with the hand that isn't comprised of metal. I stop in mid action though as I realize, the craving isn't nagging at the back of my mind currently. Usually it begins to build as soon as I wake, was it the timing of the blood I took? Or perhaps the type of blood? I glance over at Cloud as he moans out a yawn and see him stretching like a cat before letting his body fall flat back onto the bed, his face back down into the pillow to obstruct all light.

I stand to stretch only to hear him mutter, "Stupid sun…stupid…" the rest trailed off too low for me to bother trying to discern. I frown over at him before moving out of the room, searching for the innkeeper. After a few empty rooms, I find her sitting down to a very light breakfast. She gasps and drops her fork upon seeing my form in the doorway, "I-I'm sorry, can I help you?" I nod as I speak, "Yes, you said you could only afford to feed us one meal a day…Would it be possible for you to fix my meal this early? I can fend for myself the rest of the afternoons and my friend will be asking for his meal later on." The woman glanced at her food and reluctantly began to stand, I held my hand up, "You can finish your own meal first, of course. I am not so impatient that I can't wait." I forced a light smile in hopes that I would not seem so intimidating before I turned around to walk out. I heard a faint 'thank you' as I began walking. Sometimes, humans are just so predictable.

Upon entering the room we were given, I find that Cloud has barely moved. That's not good. "Cloud?" I tentatively say and when he doesn't respond, I bend down to place a hand lightly on his shoulder, "Are you well? You're usually up before me…" He moved his head just enough to be able to glance at me before saying in a weak voice, "I'm…just tired." I frowned at his remark, but wiped it off of my face as I stood, "Keep resting then, I'll be back in a little while." With that, I walked out before he could try to give any sort of response. This was not like Cloud at all, and I can only severely hope some food will help cure him…Otherwise; it will be my fault he is in this condition.

As I entered the room I had found the innkeeper in before, I found her rummaging through a refrigerator instead of still eating. Glancing around the room, I spotted a shelf stocked with several home-made cans of various things. One of which was something that looked like it might be more suiting for Cloud than anything out of her refrigerator. "Um, miss?" She jumped, letting out a startled yell, and hit her head lightly on the freezer's door. While placing a hand over where a bump was surely forming, she said lightly, "Y-yes? It's not ready yet, I seem to be very low on meat…" I shook my head, "No meat is needed. What's in that can? You seem to have a lot of it." Her eyes followed my pointing hand to the red-colored jar and her face brightened, "Oh, that's tomato juice that I've made…Will one can be enough for you? I can make soup from it in a short time..." I gave her a nod in confirmation and she smiled before getting right to work. I watched her bustle around and heat it on her little stove, putting only a few spices in it to enhance the flavor before she poured it into a bowl. Before she could set it down on the table, I took it from her hands as I said, "Thank you, I wish to eat it up in my room if you don't mind. I'll bring back the dishes and take great care not to spill anything." She gave me a quizzical look, but nodded her head as she muttered, "Okay…If that's what you prefer." With that, we both turned to go about our own business.

I entered our room to find Cloud still in the same position, definitely not good. "Cloud," I begin as I set the bowl on the small nightstand between the two beds, "sit up. Come on." I helped lift him into a sitting position and sat a little behind him when I realized he wasn't going to put much effort in staying upright. He allowed his head to fall back onto my shoulder while he stared upwards with clouded eyes. A heavy sigh came from me as I blew on a spoonful of the hot soup calmly, as if I had all the time in the world when in truth—it was quite the opposite. When I deemed the liquid cool enough, I softly spoke, "Cloud, lift up your head, take this." He reluctantly leveled his head to see what I was talking about and I placed the spoonful of soup up to his lips. For a moment he did nothing, but then allowed the liquid to be placed in his mouth. After several sips, he eyes seemed to clear slightly, but his lack of energy remained—ever persistent. When the bowl only had another few spoonfuls left, he refused to open his mouth anymore and I took this as a sign that he'd become full. I set down the spoon then tried to get up, but was halted by a faint voice, "Don't…" I looked down at Cloud, unsure that if I had really heard anything at all. His eyes were clear again, but they held a solid fear. I then realized he had placed one hand upon my leg in a feeble attempt to stop me as well. "What's wrong?" I asked; worry tainting my voice and mind. He shook his head slowly while still letting it lean across my shoulder and neck. "Explain…later." He managed to get out and I could only look at him with confusion and worry before he passed out. I sat there, unsure as to what to do, while I gazed at him. His breathing was calm and his forehead cool, so what was wrong with him? Glancing at the dish that had held the soup, I eased Cloud back down onto the bed where his head now rested on the pillow again. I picked the bowl up and exited the room to return the dish to the innkeeper.

As I turned into the room, my jaw dropped open at what I saw, "Cloud!" His breathing was terribly haggard as he heaved and he was curled up with his knees to his chest. I knelt beside the bed and placed a hand on him. He flinched as if I were going to strike him and mumbled almost incoherently, "'s coming…"

"What? What's coming?" I ask, starting to worry.

"Vin…cent?" he weakly said through his hard breaths as he opened his eyes to look at me. "Don't…leave…me alone. He's…coming." This fully alarmed me in more ways than I can say.

"Who's coming? Answer me, Cloud!" my voice came out a little too harsh in my growing panic. It couldn't be. Not even three days had passed since then.

"The demon…my nightmare…Sephiroth." My own blood ran colder than ice as I felt my whole body grow numb upon hearing that name. Cloud knew him? How? More importantly still, was he such a powerful vampire to make Cloud feel this terrible from afar? Or was this all fear? A hand gripping my arm made me look down at Cloud. It was pure fear in his eyes.

Quickly debating several options, I said with as much calm in my voice as I could muster, "We need to leave then. If he's going to catch us, I'd rather it not be here." Cloud numbly nodded in agreement and I scooped him up since I knew he was in no condition to walk. Needless to say, he wasn't the lightest human on the planet, but it could be worse. Heading down the stairs as swiftly as one can while carrying a man, I was stopped from walking out the door by the inn keeper, "What's wrong? Has something happened?" Without turning around, I bit back my irritation as I calmly stated, "My friend is ill, I am taking him to someone that can help him. Keep the extra money he has given you, it will not matter if you delay us any longer." I then left her shocked and speechless to carefully load Cloud onto the cart. Cracking the reins within seconds of climbing in myself, the shocked beast sped off at quite a nice rate. I only vaguely remembered a few landmarks from the journey here, but some progress was better than nothing. Focusing hard on the path ahead, I couldn't help but curse as a woman ran out in front of the cart's path. Jerking the reins, the chocobo protested violently as I felt the cart tipping. Knowing that it was going to go down no matter what, I grabbed Cloud and abandoned the cart, rolling across the ground several feet before the turmoil halted. I quickly sat up and began to let my displeasure be known, "Damn it, woman! Don't you have any fucking sense!? You could have killed yourself as well as us!"

Said woman was on her knees, in a state of shock. Growling through my teeth, I checked to make sure Cloud was still breathing before I moved to upright the cart and calm the panicking chocobo. By the time the beast had stopped squawking, the woman finally came to her wits, "C-cloud! How is he?" I gave her a furious glare and my frown only deepened when I recognized the woman finally as Aerith, "He's a lot worse off than he was before you caused our cart to tip over!" I snapped and she flinched slightly before standing to help me lift Cloud back into the cart, though I didn't allow her to help much. She was clearly not in her right mind. She lowly spoke as I climbed back into the cart, "Take Cloud somewhere safe. The nightmare purged Kalm early this morning. Word has it that he's coming here to this town. Don't take the main roads…here is a map…" She tentatively held up a rolled up parchment and I snatched it from her before growling, "If this matter is so urgent, are you done yet?" She sadly nodded and stepped away from the cart before I cracked the reins to get the nervous beast moving. Traveling the roads would be the easy part.

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Did I say easy? "Damn it…" I growled as the path we were currently on was not only missing from the map, but there was also something in the area that had caused even the local monsters to evacuate. Despite the fact that I had not a clue as to where we were, I kept the beast hooked to the cart moving. Even if we were going in circles, we were better off to keep moving than staying still as if to welcome the terror that prowled the land.

A harsh chill ran down my spine and I looked over to Cloud, who was out cold despite everything. Turning my head to peer around, when I looked forward again my heart leapt to my throat as I pulled on the reigns to avoid hitting a pale woman. My reactions were too late and I refused to tip the cart again so that it sped on, only to phase right through the woman. When the cart came to a stop, I turned my head back to try to determine what exactly had happened. A ghost? Seeing nothing behind us, I shrugged before turning back ahead only to have my breath hitch in my throat, "L-Lucrecia?" The woman gave a sorrowful smile before looking off in a direction. I followed her gaze to see a hidden path, but when I looked back she was gone. After a few moments of silence, I urged the chocobo onward. This time taking the path that had been revealed. Even if it was a trap, it was better than wandering completely lost. Though…had that really been…? My thoughts were a bit clouded, despite all the urgency at hand…so many things to be taken in when the mind will only accept so much at once. Even the ones dubbed as vampires still contain at least some humanity. After all, we are birthed from them.

Hearing a low moan from beside me, I looked to Cloud to see him stirring slightly. When he was able to open his eyes I heard him mutter, "Vin…cent..?" Having to look back to the road to keep the chocobo on the right track, I could only speak, "We're heading back to your home, I hope. That insane woman nearly killed us, but she informed me of a different path to take that's away from the main roads. She said Kalm's been razed so there's little time." The words weren't comforting by any means, but they were the truth. Sugar-coating things when they truly are dire will do more harm than good. I looked back to him when I heard him struggling to sit upright. With a sigh, I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him upright—only to have him fall against my shoulder, "You're not going anywhere just yet. We're on the move, that's all that can be done for the moment. Besides…you can't even sit up on your own yet." He gave an incoherent grumble as a response and I couldn't help but give a grim smile, "At least you're feeling better enough to try to fuss."

With a short sigh I focused more on the road ahead, there was a forest coming into view and I can only hope that it's the one that contains Cloud's small home. Even just five minutes to prepare was better than nothing. A battle was coming. One that I've been running away from for so long.

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((AN: Good? Bad? …Don't hurt me! Reviews please? x.x ))


	10. Nightmares End

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. Ishtar, however is one of my creations for this fic.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai with a lime twist perhaps? No? Ah well, I'll call it that just to be safe. Let me know if it should be bumped up to 'mature' but I don't quite think so. Other warnings? Go look at previous chapters. You people should be prepared the 10th chapter. X.x

**Note:** Oh my. I think this took a year of writing before I could manage to get it done. Almost three years since I started the little blurb the began this…sheesh. It's not even all that long. I blame major writer's block aaaannd MMOs. (Specifically World of Warcraft and Ragnarok Online.) Well, you've been waiting long enough, onward to the last chapter!

**Chapter 10**: Nightmares End

* * *

The labored breaths coming from the yellow beast pulling the cart almost made me feel pity for the bird…almost. I cracked the reins again before tugging on them to the left so that we didn't meet with one of the many trees. I brushed the sweat tickling my brow away with my hand that is flesh before looking around nervously again. He was close, but how close was the question.

A new object soon came into view and a brief moment of relief swept over me as I deemed it to be Cloud's home. Speaking of which, I glance over to my side and see that he's fallen asleep—a bit restless sleep though. "Woah! Stop, you stupid beast!" I yelled as I jerked hard on the reins. The chocobo let out several 'wark's in protest but finally listened as it collapsed to the ground, the cart's wheels moving almost too close to it. I scooped up Cloud as quickly as I could while still being somewhat gentle before jumping off the cart. My hand snaked out from gripping one of his legs to the door knob. It resisted, locked, "Damn it!" The curse slipped out of my mouth as I set Cloud down to allow him to lean against the door as I started patting him down. Those keys had to be somewhere…Feeling an odd shape in his back left pocket, my hand fished around and successfully pulled out a small key ring with three keys attached. I stood and tried the first key, with no luck. Biting my lip to keep from spitting out more curses and frustrations, the second key tried did its job. I grabbed Cloud once more as the door swung open.

"Oof! Vin…cent??" I stopped to turn back around. Obviously dropping Cloud onto his bed hadn't been the best of methods for depositing him quickly.

"I've got to go tie up the chocobo so that it doesn't run off. Stay in this building!"

--

My focus finally comes back to me in time to see a swirl of a red cape as raven black hair twirled. Vincent's voice hit me as foreign at first. What had happened, and where were we? I looked around to see that we were indeed back at my house. Weren't we last at an inn within the Midgar slums?

Then it hit me. Harder than a ton of bricks. My heart rate sped up and I placed a hand on my chest in a vain attempt to calm myself. Vincent was a vampire. But I'm not ill when near him. He took some of my blood. I was the one to offer it. I got sick…but not because of Vincent…It was…

"Are you all right?" I jumped as Vincent's voice invaded my thoughts that were becoming increasingly panicky.

"Y-yeah…" I looked back to the ground. I wasn't okay. I could feel it clearly now. After having escaped him for so long, my nightmare had finally found me. I faintly hear a sigh before my bed dips some. I turn my head to see Vincent looking sternly at me.

"I'm sorry that an old enemy of mine has followed me…" Wait, what? "You don't deser—"

"You know Sephiroth as well!?" I inwardly cringed as his name slipped off of my tongue, but tried to ignore it as I stared disbelievingly at the man…vampire in front of me. His eyes narrowed and he tentatively spoke,

"Do you remember what happened back in Midgar?" His voice also held suspicion. I couldn't meet those crimson eyes any longer and looked to my hands,

"No. Yes…Not everything, obviously." He started to say something and I looked up again and interrupted, "I do know what you are. I also know that if that is true, I don't get ill around you…and that has to account for something." I'm actually very thankful that I came to meet him, despite the situation at hand. Vincent sighed and set his clawed hand firmly on my shoulder, "I know him. He is a terribly…psychotic vampire. It would be more fitting to call him a demon than any other. My question for you is—how do you know him?"

"I…When I was in the military…He was known as one of the greatest generals they had…" Vincent nodded, though his face grew darker and he removed his hand from my shoulder. I tentatively continued, "I…I admired him at one point. Rather, I admired the stories that were told of him. But…I met him one day, and all of that changed. I—"

"I understand. You don't have to continue." I gave him a grateful glance before he continued, "I was also once within Shinra. That was a long time ago though." I couldn't help but look at him thoughtfully. Had he been a high rank? What weapon had he specialized in? He quirked a brow at me and I realized that I must've been staring, and quickly looked away.

"…He's here."

--

I stood and whipped around to shove Cloud back down into a sitting position, "You need to stay here. That charm Ishtar put up obviously helps ease the effects of your sickness as well…Since you're not nearly as ill as you were in Midgar." He opened his mouth to protest, shut it, opened it, and shut it again before crossing his arms and letting out a short 'hmph' noise. I grimly smiled as I turned around. He was stubborn, even if it was within his best interest to listen. A loud crack was heard and I noticed a blue glow beneath the door that crackled within the air. A bitter curse followed shortly after. Ishtar's charm would hold then, with an extreme amount of luck.

Breathing in a shaky breath to steady myself, I shimmered out of the house so that the door would remain closed. My teleportation landed me right behind a very frustrated Sephiroth.

"You won't get in. Not while I'm still alive to prevent you," my voice came out much calmer than I felt. In fact, it was so emotionless that it even frightened me somewhat.

"Hmph! So, Vincent, finally decided to stop running? Though I see you still refuse to see the glory of the blood that runs through your veins! What a pity." He posed his unearthly long sword as he added, "Such a waste to have to get rid of you." A report reached my ears as a bullet fired from the gun that I lashed out. Another shot, and another. "Hahaha..." he laughed as he struck the second two bullets away. The first he had dodged enough that it only grazed the cloth of his sleeve, "You should know by now…Your gun will not kill me. No matter how good of a shot you were in Shinra, Mr. Valentine." I fired several more shots as we circled each other; our legs set us in motion,

"Bastard!" He made a swift dash for me, and I barely dodged the swipe of his long sword. A small sapling and a few locks of my hair didn't fare as well though. I made a desperate shot for his body while we were still close. We weren't close enough, as it grazed the top of his shoulder before he knocked the gun out of my hand. I dug golden metal into his collarbone and dragged down before he returned the favor by wrapping his free hand around my throat, my feet lifting a little as my back pressed against a tree,

"If only you'd work this hard at truly using your blood to your advantage! You refuse to believe that no human will ever see you as anything more than a monster!" His grip tightened and spots danced across my vision but I continued to glare as I clawed at his hand. More pain danced through me with the sickening sound of metal piercing flesh. It felt like he stabbed my torso with his sword. Like I was nothing more than one ingredient to a kabob recipe.

"Vincent!" Was I hearing things? Who's voice was that? Was it so faint, or am I that far gone? What a rotten time for my craving to start to flare up. "_Sephiroth_!" That was louder. The pressure on my neck and the metal blade vanished. With nothing supporting me up, I felt myself fall. My vision was a haze, but I forced my head up to see what had happened as I coughed a little. My heart skipped a beat as I saw Cloud throw all his energy into another swing at Sephiroth, whom met Cloud's sword with his own weapon.

"Ho? Long time no see, Cloud." I saw Cloud get knocked back with a swipe of Sephiroth's sword before I had to allow my head to drop. The craving. It burns. But, it can't be the craving. This…

"Gaaah!" came a cry from Cloud. I couldn't see what was going on even if I were to try. Fire. My veins feel like they are on fire. This is not the craving that is my annoyance every day of my life. I…I don't know how much more I can fight it off. Whatever it is…With every clash of sword that I hear…It burns to be let out. To take over. What is this…this chaos?

--

The pain. It's so overpowering that all I want to do is curl up, yet all my body wants to do is vomit. Ugh. Like that would help. But I can't let this demon kill Vincent. I can't let him do as he pleases. Not anymore. I lean heavily on my sword in order to stand up. Sephiroth just stands there, chuckling to himself as his silver hair is blown about in a breeze. I strain all my muscles against their will to swing my sword again. It's a vain attempt as he merely brings his sword up to meet mine again. The wound in my side protests violently as well, I struggle to remain standing. He suddenly lets out a groan of pain. Wait. That's not right.

Both his head and mine turn towards the intruding noise. I can only gape as I see Vincent convulsing on the ground. He cries out in pain as his body begins to…change.

"What's this…?" I hear Sephiroth mutter before he shoves me away with a simple flick of his wrist. I crumple to the ground, but force myself up to watch the gruesome transformation overtaking someone that I had spent my past few days with. Demonic, bat-like wings pierce through his skin, inevitably piercing his shirt at the same time. His cries of agony made me shudder. They made me feel sick in a much different matter than the vampire standing only a few feet away from me. Though, these cries soon faded into dark laugher that sent ice up my spine. I dared to look back only to see his eyes glowing a fiery crimson as he stood. His body completely altered into that which truly could be called a demon. His taloned feet dug into the dirt as he flexed those crimson and black wings. I heard Sephiroth shift, probably raising his sword,

"What sort of change is this, Vincent? Have you finally embraced your blood?" I watched in slight horror as this new Vincent moved his gaze from Sephiroth to me. And took a step forward. Did what Sephiroth said have truth in it?

"V-vincent?" I weakly called out and he stopped. Those fiery eyes burning into me. I felt exposed and vulnerable. Duh, of course I was vulnerable, but still. There's a difference between being and feeling…sort of. A long thin blade suddenly fitted underneath my neck and I stiffened,

"You can't possibly still care for this human in that form, can you? Ridiculous." The demon…no, Vicent turned his head back towards Sephiroth again. A low growl came from him and he lowered his hands before bringing them slowly up, a low chant upon his lips. Sephiroth scoffed,"Trying to levitate me away?" as he said this, Vincent flashed him a deadly glare and finished off the chant while suddenly thrusting his arms into the air. The ground instantly began to rumble, no it was…growling? A sudden shift came that jerked Sephiroth and myself from one another. I fell to land on my butt while the demon tried to regain his footing. Just as he did, he looked down in time to see the earth form a ghastly set of jaws around him, and bite with the force of a great landslide. I heard him cry out in pain and a dark laugh began to sound from where I last saw Vincent.

"How good will you be with your legs and wrists crushed beneath soil? Even if you manage to escape, I heard your bones crack and smell your blood. Even you cannot escape when Hell knocks." The voice sent a shudder down my spine. It was a deep, terrifying voice slightly laced with what I recognized as Vincent's. Sephiroth snarled and immediately set to getting himself free. I could hear soft footsteps, calculating ones, but when I could look up again he was circling Sephiroth like a vulture would a dying creature. Suddenly, Sephiroth got his arms free and pulled out his sword, and Vincent dashed in. The other struggled to bring up his weapon before a loud 'clank' sounded out as Vincent had used his clawed, metal hand to grab the other's sword. Sephiroth immediately tried to use the force to help set his legs free. A flicker of a smile fluttered across Vicent's face and he jumped back, causing Sephiroth to fall over from the sudden disappearance of his support. Quickly recovering, he slipped out onto his knees, panting as blood trickled along down his ripped clothes. He glared at Vincent, who was pacing once more. "Y-you will not get rid of me so easily…" he reached into his pocket and the blood slowed as he allowed a curing materia to be melded into his sword. Where had he gotten that? And why had Vincent let him do such a thing? He only continued his watchful eye and circling. Standing, not without staggering a time or two, Sephiroth held up his sword and moved to make an attack. Vicent dashed forward to meet it with his gauntlet once more and was only forced to slide a little in the dirt before bending Sephiroth's sword. The other gaped in a brief state of surprise. This was quickly interrupted as Vincent sent a swift kick to Sephiroth's stomach to bring him back to his knees.

All I could do was shake. I couldn't stop shaking. If I were to try, I fear I'd vomit and pass out—if not worse. With the way this battle was going, I don't think it could last very long. It definitely won't end cleanly. But with two obviously powerful vampires battling one another, how could you expect otherwise? With somehow several more blows exchanged, I could feel myself becoming sicker. I have a strong feeling that I should go back inside, but I'm not sure I could make it.

As I struggle to move towards my door, using my sword for as much support as possible, a noise behind me stands above the rest. Rather, the silence that followed. Then a soft thud. Safe to say, that I fear turning around. Despite the terrible dread and sickness welling up within the pit of my stomach, I slowly turn my head as I hear footsteps. Slow and steady, heading straight for me. Bright crimson eyes bore down into me, silent and calculating. Then came that voice,

"The nightmare is gone." He closed his eyes and startled me as he began to fall. My attempt to catch and support him wasn't the brightest idea. Still feeling weak and ill from being around the fight and supernatural powers, I fell to me knees with the body.

"Vincent..?" my voice was faint, even to my own ears. Somehow during the fall, the wings had crumbled away like Ash. His feet were bare from the talons breaking through his boots. The color of his skin had returned to normal as well.

Shaking slightly, I reached a tentative hand to brush away a lock of hair to get a better look at his face. He wasn't dead…was he? He was pale. He didn't move. My hand slid down to his chest—there was still a heartbeat. Faint, but it was there. I leaned down and place my ear near his mouth and nose, the breath was slow and soft but it was still there. Relieved for the moment, I found myself wrapping my arms around him. I dislike the thought of losing him. A friend. One that saved me from a nightmare.

--

My world had flooded with pain, and though it had ebbed, some puddles still remained. A flare of light burst through the gray and made me wish for the previous darkness. What was so damn bright? And what is that noise? It wasn't there before…

"…ent…" It sounds so familiar, yet so foreign. Aaaugh, my head. Let me rest. I am hungry, but I do not want to go find food…Something smells good though…

Reluctantly, I open an eye slowly before opening the other to focus on the blur that's hovering over me, "Vincent?" I hear a small groan escape from my throat as I blink a few more times before focusing on worried blue eyes, "…Cloud?" A wave of relief washed over his face and he suddenly embraced me, his scent invading my senses.

"I'm glad you're okay!" Why could I smell his blood so clearly? It was beginning to make my head spin.

He finally pulled away, flushed a little, "S-Sorry. You are okay, right..?" He looked at me with hopeful eyes that made my stomach react in a way that was separate from the craving welling up. I tried to sit up, and he started to protest, but then helped me as I said, "I am…" I felt around my chest, searching for the sword wound I got before the fire in my veins caused me to blackout…it was gone though, but how? "Uninjured?" he seemed to see my confused look and carefully said, "You…don't remember? You….changed….Killed Sephiroth….and it looks like that changed healed you." He gave a weak laugh, "Lucky, you are left without a scratch, but I didn't fare to well…" He tenderly touched his bandaged side and the source of the blood I smelled became clear. Guilt panged through me like ice water and I stood, "I am sorry. I will not cause you any more pain…" With that , I moved to head for the door, and he jumped to his feet to stand in my way, "Wait!" He looked into my eyes for a moment before looking away to the floor, "You…don't have to leave…I…wouldn't mind the company…" He suddenly looked up again, "And I have to thank you somehow! You saved me several times! Without you I—" he balled up his fists as he bit his lip. Biting too hard, fresh blood trickled down and my body began to move before I realized what I was doing. With the fingers that were without metal, I gently placed two fingers below his chin and forced him to look at me. He gaped a little in confusion before I leaned down to calmly lick the little bit of blood from his chin. This only served to make my craving flare and I captured the bloody lip as he tried to gasp out, "Wha—" The action began purely for the blood, but he shocked me when he returned the pressure in a tentative kiss.

My curiosity got the better of me as I returned the kiss and allowed him to do the same. Loving the blood lingering on his injured lip, I flicked my tongue out to get another taste and he opened his mouth to my surprise. I slowly let my tongue explore his mouth, but soon his was battling mine. After what seemed like only seconds, we parted for air and we gazed at each other wearily. His cheeks were tinted pink and I could feel my own burning somewhat. "Why—" I cut him off by picking him up and setting him on his bed, I couldn't hide a smile as he turned four shades darker, "What're you doing!?" I began to work on undoing his shirt, "I still need to apologize, if you still need to thank me…And, I'm hungry now." He muttered something, but I ignored it as I undid his bandage. Letting it fall to the ground, I leaned down to carefully clean up the bloody wound with my mouth.

He let out a small hiss of pain at first, but slowly became quiet and relaxed enough that he stopped putting strain on the wound. The blood flow eased off before he lost too much more blood and I glanced around for what he could have bandaged himself with. Seeing the gauze on the table, I retrieved it to wrap the wound again, "Guess…my wound was almost handy…" his voice held some amusement to my surprise.

--

I couldn't help but smile as he gave a slightly amused look upon my comment. I can't believe he…did we kiss? Or was he just after blood? Does that mean? Augh, so many questions, and I don't know how to ask a single one.

"What is wrong?" I realized I must have been frowning and quickly shook my head, "Just…will you stay?" He looked somewhat startled and remained quiet as he looked at me, "You…do not mind that….well, everything that you know? …What…just happened?" Flushing as he I knew he was referring to our tongue war and him licking my side, I really could say nothing other than, "Not at all." He looked at me even more bewildered for a moment before leaning down to place a surprisingly tender kiss, "Are you sure?" I felt a foolish smile creep onto my face and firmly said, "Yes. Now, what do I have to bite my lip again to get you do that more often?"

--

My face burned, but I felt my chest flutter about oddly as I looked at him. I didn't say anything, simply leaned down and let my mouth answer his question in a form other than words. He let out a soft noise that made a tickling feeling shoot, hot down my body. As I reached to touch his face with a hand, a knock sounded at the door—making us both nearly jump out of our skins. The knock came again, this time louder, and I sat on the bed as Cloud got up, grumbling. He opened the door and I promptly heard a, "Hello, Mr. Strife." I immediately stood and rushed over to see that, indeed, it was Ishtar as Cloud exclaimed after her greeting. "I felt the Nightmare fade away and thought I should come to check on you two." He looked at me with a twinkle in her eye that made me flush and all I felt like I could do was cross my arms with a, "Hmph." There were no words.

She merely gave a chuckle and fished in her basket, "I have some herbs for you Cloud…They will help your wounds and pain. Though, I know you'll have a little help from the one beside you. I also have a new vial for you, Vincent. It is up to you when to use it." I turned and saw her holding another canteen of her enchanted blood out to me. I took it, but placed it in a pocket. "Did you need more wood and water?" I heard Cloud ask, and Ishtar replied, "No dear. I only came to deliver those, and I'll be taking your chocobo back to the farm as well."

"What about my bike!?" Cloud almost shouted and she only smiled again, "No dear, I may not look like it…But I am perfectly capable of bringing it back. It will have a full tank of gas as well. All I ask is that I may visit you two a bit more often, alright? Of course I'll still come by for my usual orders too." I saw him give a tired smile, but he nodded, "That sounds good, thank you for the items. Do be careful on your trip…" She nodded and started to turn before gasping, "Oh! I almost forgot, take this too….I'm sure one of you will find a use for it." Cloud took it and looked at the jar, trying to figure out what was in it, "Lubricant? I don't have problems with my joints…." He suddenly flushed a deep red and I could only quirk an eyebrow at Ishtar's back. Whatever she was, I had a feeling she knew far greater than I'd care for her to know. Perhaps that knowledge was not all bad though.

I turn to the, still red, Cloud and take the jar from him. Setting it on the table as he shuts the door, he walks up to me and I interrupt whatever he was going to say by locking my mouth onto his again. I broke away can gave a sigh before taking off my tattered cloak, "You need a cooling system. It's damn hot in here." I toss my cloak across the back of a chair and turn to have him helping me out of my ripped shirt…how did that happen anyway? "I will have to work on that…now that I am not the only one who will suffer," he said in an almost teasing manner. He eyed me for a moment before wrapping his arms around my waist, "There's always a shower for now…" I cast my stare to follow his and felt yet another smile trying to surface. Letting it, I scooped him up and placed him on his bed before slipping off his shirt as I said, "A shower can come later…" Whatever this…crushing wave was that continued to pound away at my chest…I think I could get used to it. Perhaps my life is not destined to be damned after all…

"Vincent?"

"Hm?"

"Don't…forget Ishtar's gift."

* * *

((AN: HAHA….I'm a wuss. Couldn't muster a lemon in the end after all. xP Yes, the is supposed to be the end. Lest I'm too badly hounded for an epilogue. I tried to make it a bit longer to make up for the LONG wait…but don't think I succeeded very well. Hope you all enjoyed it none-the-less, and THANK YOU for all the watches, comments, and favs! This story was somehow a big hit (at least up until this chapter, I hope this chapter did just as well. xD; ) ))


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